


Falling In Love at a C̶o̶f̶f̶e̶e̶ Tea Shop

by meteor_cities



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:21:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25153120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meteor_cities/pseuds/meteor_cities
Summary: A small business owner and his energetic companion... What would be a better way to describe Levi and Hanji as business partners?
Relationships: Hange Zoë/Levi
Kudos: 40





	1. Partner in Crime

_His head is stuck in that damn notebook again.. What could possibly be so interesting to him that he needs it written down?_

These were Hanji's thoughts as they watched their best friend from college scribble words into a notebook. The notebook was quite beat up, which Hanji thought was strange. Levi wasn't one to let his things get torn or ragged easily; he took good care of things he cherished. Hanji thought it was an admirable trait of his.

But, clearly, this notebook was different.

And once again, Hanji didn't realize they were staring.

Levi looked up and threw the cap of his pen at his friend, glaring. "Earth to idiot. Why are you staring?"

Hanji came to, laughing lightly. "No reason. Just zoned out, I guess.."

Levi made an unamused noise, grabbing the pen cap off of the bench where it had landed next to Hanji. "Somehow you always end up zoning out when you look at me. It's a tad bit unsettling. Is there something wrong with my face that I never knew about?"

Hanji shook their head rapidly, looking away to hide the embarrassment. "No.. No, your face is fine. I just find it interesting how you seem to always focus on that damn notebook.."

Levi looked at the woman sitting next to him. "I don't _always_ have the notebook, you know. Just.. Just when I think I need it."

"So, always?" Hanji smiled, crossing their arms. "You're quite odd."

"Is that why you're friends with me? Because you think I'm some 'odd' science experiment?"

"Precisely!"

Levi let out a short laugh and shook his head. He couldn't help it; he simply found his best friend to be one of the most cheery and optimistic people he knew.

The pair sat quietly for a moment while Levi read over the page he was working on, adding to and crossing out things. Hanji leaned over to peek over his shoulder, looking at the words on the page.

"Woooow. You have really neat handwriting for a boy, Levi."

Levi looked up, flinching away when he saw how close Hanji's face was. "Back off, will you?" He shut the notebook, placing his hands firmly on the cover. "My handwriting is none of your business..."

Hanji crossed their arms, making a face. "Calm down, Mr. Scrooge. I just wanted to see what you were working on."

"You don't need to, Han. It's not really worth your time anyway." Levi shoved his things into his bag, resting his head on the picnic table.

Hanji raised an eyebrow, copying Levi's actions and resting their head on the table as well. "Everything about you is worth my time, shortie."

Levi glared, pushing away Hanji's face with his hand. "Don't say things like that. You act as if we're married or something," he muttered, sitting back up and closing his eyes.

Hanji stared up at the man, sighing quietly. _We would be, except you're too stubborn, little man._

"What're you sighing for?"

Hanji sat up, tapping their fingers on the table. "We're partners in crime, aren't we? It wouldn't make sense if we kept things from each other."

Levi groaned. He hated it when Hanji was right. "Fine. You win. But I'm not saying anything while we're in public."

Hanji smiled, getting up. "Whose place are we going to?"

"Mine. I doubt yours is clean at the moment."

Hanji laughed, pushing on Levi's shoulder lightly and grabbing their things. "How did you know?"

Levi paused and gave Hanji a look. "Seriously? We're best friends, dumbass."

Hanji grinned, the kind of grin that made their eyes close into a crescent shape. 

"You're absolutely right, Levi Ackerman."


	2. Planning and Manic Episodes Do Not Work Well

The pair arrived at Levi's apartment and Levi proceeded to unlock the front door.

As usual, Hanji was hit with the familiar smell of cinnamon and warm vanilla. Hanji wasn't sure why, but since the two became friends, cinnamon became an addition to the warm vanilla that Levi often smelled of. 

Levi was glad that Hanji was as clueless as they were. 

Hanji immediately found a spot on Levi's couch, lazily slouching. They stared at the messy coffee table. It was unlike Levi to be even slightly disorganized, and usually, it meant that something hit Levi hard. The interesting part was finding out whether or not it was a good thing.

"What's all this?" Hanji sat up, eyes darting over each stack of papers that laid on the table.

Levi sighed, shutting the door and removing his shoes. "Hanji, how many times do I have to tell you to take off-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just prefer to ignore that rule." They picked up a notepad with several phone numbers and names written on it. "Trying to get a hot date or something?"

Levi glared at the back of Hanji's head, walking over and tugging gently at their ponytail. "No. I'm not interested in having a significant other." He sat next to Hanji, taking the notepad from them and setting it back down. 

Hanji laughed. "You're gonna die alone as an angry, little man."

Levi doubted that but refused to continue on the subject of his love life.

"Stay on topic. Why do you think you're here anyway?"

Hanji pretended to think, tilting their head and humming. "Is it because you love me so much you just can't stay away from me?"

" _No,_ you big-nosed freak. I was going to tell you about my notebook, since you wanted to know."

Hanji laughed, elbowing Levi. "Hey, be nice to me and my big nose."

Levi waved off Hanji's comment, beginning to sort out the papers on the coffee table.

Hanji sighed, watching the other continue to make sense of the mess that was in front of them both. Levi finished, leaning back and pulling the notebook from his bag and tossing it in the middle of the table. "This is all part of the same plan."

Hanji raised an eyebrow, resting their arms on the back of the couch. "So... What's the plan?"

Levi held up a finger, getting up and grabbing his laptop, pulling up a picture of a small building. "This is my plan."

Hanji stared at the screen. "You're... Buying a building?"

Levi nodded, setting the laptop aside. "I've been working on this since freshman year.. Why do you think I was getting a business degree?"

Hanji nodded slowly. "A business. That sounds cool. What kind of business?"

"No. You'll think it's stupid."

Hanji whined, shaking Levi's shoulder. "C'monnnn, Levi. I promise not to lauuuugh," they begged, giving Levi a puppy-like look.

Levi shook his head. "I'll tell you if you get rid of the stupid look on your face."

Hanji smiled, placing their hands in their lap. 

Levi looked at Hanji, sighing. "Fine. I want to run a tea shop."

Hanji blinked, staring at Levi.

_A tea shop? He was so anxious over telling me he wanted to run a tea shop? That's almost adorable._

Levi groaned. "What _are_ you even looking at?"

Hanji shook their head, giving a small smile. "I think you should do it."

It was now Levi's turn to blink and stare. "What?"

"I think you should do it. You'd be really good at it. I mean, you do have the degree and everything.."

Levi looked away, trying to hide the small bit of joy that was rising in his chest. 

"I guess you're right.."

"Of course I'm right! Aren't I always?"

Levi looked back up, letting a tiny smile sneak onto his face. "Yes, Hanji, yes you are."

"Seeee?" Hanji grinned, pulling Levi into a tight embrace. "I can even help you look for people!"

Levi groaned, rolling his eyes. "No. _No_. Hanji, I can't just have anybody working there. You know me too well for that to happen."

"Well, duh, it wasn't just going to be any random stranger," Hanji reassured, crossing their arms. "Please?"

"No, Hanji. That wasn't even what I was thinking about in the first place. I need someone I can trust to work with me before I can bring anybody else in. That's my top priority."

Hanji frowned. "Well, then who are you gonna ask first?"

Levi stared at Hanji, hesitating for a second. _Should I tell them now? What if they say no?_

Hanji pouted, slouching again.

"You. That's who I was going to ask."

Levi turned away to hide the embarrassment he felt in being so abrupt with his request. Though, Hanji didn't seem to catch on. 

"Me? What do you mean? Are you sure you wanna do that?" Hanji began to ask several questions, which made Levi look up and grab Hanji's face in one hand, squishing their cheeks gently. "Yes, I'm sure. I wouldn't ask if I wasn't."

Hanji grinned as best they could in Levi's grip, throwing their arms around the small man. "Then I'd be happy to!"

Levi dropped his hand, relaxing in Hanji's arms.

"Thanks, Han. It means a lot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaa levihan :) my babies


	3. Vacant Buildings

Hanji had spent about a week at Levi's place just helping him organize plans and to-do lists as well as doing some light shopping. Hanji found it quite amazing how Levi was able to afford such things. In fact, they'd brought it up, and Levi waved it off with: "I've been saving for over a decade."

Hanji thought Levi's ability to think ahead was one of their favorite traits about him.

And now it was the morning that the two were meant to meet up with some friend of Levi's; one that Hanji apparently never met. He said his name was Erwin or something like that. Either way, Hanji wasn't occupied with that thought. They were dead asleep on Levi's couch, having shut out the world late into the night during one of their breaks from working on things.

Levi woke up about an hour before Hanji, walking into the living room to see his friend passed out, hair in their face and their mouth open, letting out soft snores and, occasionally, talking to themself.

Levi wasn't sure what to feel about such a messy sleeper. Though, as long as Hanji didn't _drool_ , it didn't bother him.

It was one of the rare mornings that Levi preferred something caffeinated, which usually meant black teas, but he needed something stronger and decided on coffee. He hated it, but at least he wouldn't be left with an entire pot, considering his companion was quite a coffee-loving freak.

So, for about 20 minutes, Levi stood in the kitchen, scrolling through his phone and sipping on black coffee that only had a tiny bit of creamer in it. He would've kept this going for longer, except Hanji had woken up and walked sleepily into the kitchen, almost choking on their yawn to see the shirtless man standing there.

Levi didn't bother to look up. "Good morning to you, too, four-eyes."

Hanji rolled their eyes, grabbing a mug from the cupboard. "Put a shirt on, you elf."

Levi looked up at Hanji whilst sipping on his drink, raising an eyebrow. "What? Does it bother you?'

 _No, it doesn't,_ Hanji thought, pouring an obscene amount of sugar into their mug. "Regardless if it does or not, do you not have any modesty?"

Levi held back a smug grin, glancing back down at his phone. "I think you forget what happened in college, Hanji."

Hanji choked on her coffee, staring at Levi. "That was _one time_ _,_ Levi! Wasn't my fault the fucking fire alarm went off while I was sleeping!"

Levi chuckled quietly, setting his empty cup in the sink. "You even had roommates, Han, yet you chose to sleep in basically a bathing suit."

"Hey! At least I put on a sweater!"

Levi hummed, rinsing his mug and placing it to dry. "Yeah, I know."

Hanji made a noise of complaint, watching Levi walk to the bathroom.

_Ridiculous little man. That's the only way to describe Levi._

-

The two of them arrived at the place that Levi had designated for his tea shop. Hanji stared at the building, sighing.

"Levi, my dear friend, why did you pick such a small place?" Hanji asked, turning to look at Levi.

Levi glared. "What? Did you think I was gonna have a huge place? You know, Starbucks sometimes has a smaller building than this."

"Good point."

Levi nodded, walking up to the doors and unlocking them, propping it open with a rock from nearby. Hanji shuffled in, looking around. "Wooooow. I think you might have to clean this up a bit, Levi."

Levi sighed. "Why do you think I brought things for that? Stay here, I'll go get the stuff from the car."

Hanji waved off Levi's words, making note of small things that would have to be attended to later on. Really, it wasn't a bad place, especially when considering the fact that Levi was just starting off. 

Hanji propped themself up on the counter that stood in the middle of the main area, swinging their legs. They looked at the countertops, understanding why Levi wanted to replace them for something like marble. It was a good idea, and Hanji greatly encouraged it. Though, they thought it might clash with the paneling that Hanji urged Levi to get. And the flooring, too...

"Hey, get your ass off my counters, will you?"

Hanji looked up and laughed, hopping down. "Why does it matter if you're having them removed anyway?"

Levi thought for a moment then shook his head. "Pick something to clean. We have an hour until Erwin gets here with the stuff."

Hanji nodded. It seemed to them that Levi's way of telling them they were right about their statements was to assign them a task.

Hanji didn't complain. They were happy that Levi didn't argue when they were right. Then again, sometimes they wished that he'd put up just a little bit of a fight.

They shook off the thought, quietly going to work on the windows of the shop. Levi was always going to be Levi, even if it meant he didn't put much of a fight into it when it came to them. In some ways, it was admirable, so Hanji kept their train of thought focused on that. 

"Hey. You missed a spot."

Hanji paused, turning to look at Levi, who was already reaching in front of her to get said spot on the window. 

They laughed quietly. "Yeah. I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so maaaaaybe i decided to throw some gentle levihan in just bc,,,,but also because I wondered if Marco would get secondhand embarrassment from it haha
> 
> no worries, little bro. there will be more ;)


	4. Youtube Search: How to Install Floorboards

Hanji found themself crashing onto the floor, sighing loudly and staring up at the ceiling. They and Levi had been working on getting the empty building as clean as possible, and now it was almost noon.

Levi sighed, walking over to his friend and kicking at their foot. "Don't crash on me now. We still have the flooring to do, you know."

Hanji groaned. "Erwin isn't here yet. Let me relax."

"Who isn't here yet?"

The two looked up at the entrance, seeing the blonde man that Levi had asked to help them with this huge project. Hanji rubbed their eyes, squinting. "You're a lot more blurry than the pictures."

Levi rolled his eyes, placing Hanji's glasses on their face. Hanji gasped, smiling. "Nevermind!"

Erwin gave Levi a soft smile, leaning against the door frame. "The infamous Hanji."

Hanji laughed and stood up, fixing their glasses to properly sit on their face. "Infamous? I haven't committed any crimes.."

Levi scoffed, crossing his arms. "Sure you haven't, Han."

Erwin nodded, ignoring Levi. "He talks about you a lot. It's nice to finally see Levi's girlfriend in person."

Hanji choked on the water they'd begun drinking. "Oh, no. We're not-"

Levi glared at Erwin. "How many times have I told you that Hanji is just a friend?"

Erwin laughed, shaking his head. "I'm joking, relax. Besides, we have work to do. What time do you have to be out of here again?"

"9pm," Levi answered, brushing past Erwin to get to his truck. "So the both of you better hurt up. I don't want to have to do this flooring again in the morning."

Erwin nodded, following Levi and grabbing the tools he'd brought from the passenger seat.

-

"Ughhhh." Hanji crashed on the unfinished part of the floor, letting out a big sigh. "Are we done yet?"

Levi shook his head, shoving his phone in Hanji's face. "You're on the unfinished part. Put in your order, will you?"

Hanji sat up, taking the phone from Levi and quickly doing as they were told, handing it back to Levi. "I'll pay you back later, yeah?"

Levi shook his head, sitting down as well. "Don't. It's my treat."

Hanji nodded, staring at Erwin, who sat across from them. "Blondie has come to join us! How special." They smiled, placing their hands behind them and leaning back.

Erwin nodded in reply, taking a drink from his water. "Tell me, how do you know Levi exactly?"

"College. Odd, right? Our classes were on _completely_ opposite sides of the campus! It was crazy. But somewhere in the middle of the campus, there was like one specific spot and we just kinda always met up there." Hanji grinned, closing their eyes.

Levi shook his head, looking up from his phone. "More like you saw me there and designated me your person to annoy."

Hanji frowned, kicking Levi's leg gently. "It's your fault for keeping me around."

"Did I really have a choice?"

Hanji laughed. "No, I guess not."

The trio sat on the floor, talking for a while about things like college, and how Levi had this persistent high school kid bothering him about a job. Apparently Levi had agreed to let the kid pass out flyers and things like that. More like an internship; something for Levi to gauge whether or not he'd be fit for some kind of job at the shop itself.

It was about 5pm when they'd finished with the flooring and had started working on the walls. By that time, all of them were exhausted. Even Hanji, in their infinite amount of energy drinks, was exhausted.

"Han, c'mon. Let's just get this one last panel up? Then I'll drive you home."

Hanji groaned, shaking their head. "No mas! No. _Mas_."

Levi sighed, laying the panel down on the floor. Spanish speaking Hanji was a different Hanji entirely, and usually entailed one of two things: that they were drunk OR they were tired to the point of barely being able to move.

"Fine. Go shut off the lights. We can come back here tomorrow."

Hanji groaned but complied, getting up and shutting off the lights. The three of them grabbed their things, locking the place up and saying their goodbyes, agreeing to meet up in the morning when everyone was less exhausted.

Hanji got into Levi's car, shutting their eyes immediately. Levi shook his head as he started the car. "Seatbelt, Hanji."

"Yeah, yeah." 

-

Levi took it upon himself to decide to help Hanji up to the 5th floor of their building where their apartment was. Only because he wanted to make sure Hanji got to bed and that the door would get locked. (Hanji had an awful habit of forgetting to lock the door.)

"Do you want to shower first before you sleep?"

Hanji laughed, shaking their head slowly. "Why? You gonna help me or something? I'd fall asleep in the shower."

Levi raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Fine. But don't come to my place before showering."

Hanji waved Levi off, immediately kicking off their jeans once their body hit the bed. "Get out, perv."

Levi glared, already have begun to leave the room. "Goodnight, Hanji."

"Night, shortie."

Levi ignored Hanji's comment, walking out of the apartment and making sure to lock it with the spare key he'd obtained when he found out Hanji forgot to lock the door.

Once in a while, he did care. Just not where anybody could see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like this is a messy chapter lmao enjoy :')


	5. Rain or Shine

Hanji's awakening was caused by their phone ringing. _It's so early... Who would be calling me at this hour?_

Levi.

Hanji sighed and answered, muttering out a sleepy "good morning" into the phone. They rubbed their eyes, yawning.

"Hanji. Do you know what time it is?" Levi asked, sounding rushed. 

They laughed, looking at the clock on their nightstand. "6am, Levi. 2 hours before I planned on getting up. What do you want?"

Levi rolled his eyes as he pulled on a pair of pants, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder. "Yeah, 6am and it's fucking pouring rain outside. I'd rather stay home, but I can't, so I figured we'd all get there early so we can finish the walls and leave."

Hanji groaned, getting up to open the blinds. Indeed, it was pouring rain. "Are you picking me up? Or do you want me to meet you there?"

Levi thought for a moment before making his decision. "I'll pick you up. If I tell you to meet you there, you'll show up at 7. Be ready within 20 minutes."

Hanji scowled at their phone screen. "Fine."

-

Hanji had been in the middle of tying their hair up in a bun, which they found to be the easiest way to avoid getting their hair drenched by rain when the doorbell rang. They turned away from the mirror, looking at the door. "Levi, you have a key."

Levi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. When it was rainy and he had to be somewhere, he was 10 times more grumpy. Hanji found it to be hilarious but refused to say so in front of Levi to avoid getting smacked.

Hanji grabbed their things and stuffed them into their coat pocket, opening the door.

"Good morning, sunshine!"

Levi grumbled under his breath, beginning to walk down the hall. Hanji smiled, locking the front door and following quickly after Levi. 

"Why do you hate this weather so much? It's so pretty. Plus the way the grass smells and everything after it's done raining, it's so-"

Levi turned around and placed his hand over Hanji's mouth, catching them off guard. "Stop rambling for a little bit. I have my reasons for disliking the rain."

Hanji paused and stared at Levi, nodding quickly and shutting their mouth, following Levi in silence to his car. 

Once they had gotten in the car, Levi relaxed a bit, closing his eyes. "Hey, Han."

Hanji looked up from their phone, raising their eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I apologize for earlier."

Hanji laughed, shaking their head. "Levi, you think too much."

Levi hummed in response, beginning to drive away from the apartment building and to the shop, where Erwin was waiting.

The three of them had almost instantly started working, and with all of the flooring being done, Erwin took it upon himself to put down the vinyl floor cover and remove the countertops. Levi was right to have decided on black marble, Hanji thought. It actually worked quite well with the flooring. Hanji smiled, continuing on their section of the walls.

It'd reached 9am by the time they'd completed the walls and the countertops, the three of them now working on moving boxes of things into the building and pushing them behind the counters so that tomorrow they would be able to move in bigger objects like furniture. Naturally, it didn't take them very long. 

Levi was very pleased with this.

"Hey, Levi, Hanji. Do you guys wanna maybe go get lunch or something?"

The other two stared at Erwin then at each other. Hanji was tired and Levi just wanted to go home, so they both shook their heads.

"No, but thank you for the offer. It's just a gloomy day is all," Hanji replied, a small smile on their face. Levi gave Hanji a silent 'thank you' in return.

They both said their goodbyes to Erwin and waited for him to drive off before deciding on what do do next.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Levi asked, grabbing his keys. Hanji thought for a moment, biting at their lip. 

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd rather hang out with you."

Levi held back a laugh and nodded, pulling Hanji out of the building and to his car.

-

Upon arrival, Hanji had taken off their coat and shoes, shuffling to the couch and grabbing the throw blanket that Hanji had gifted Levi once, pulling it over their legs. Levi sighed, placing himself next to his friend.

"You like that blanket so much, why didn't you get it for yourself?"

Hanji thought for a moment before looking at Levi, humming. "I already have this blanket, silly. I got one for you because I wanted you to have the same experience. I thought it was great."

Levi nodded, tugging at the blanket. "At least share, will you?"

Hanji laughed, allowing Levi to slide next to them under the blanket. 

The two sat in silence for a while, listening to the rain, when something began to bug Levi. He couldn't entirely put a name on it, though. He just felt off.

He looked at Hanji, who was busy reading some book they found on one of Levi's shelves. Levi watched their expressions, and Hanji seemed quite focused on the text. Levi sighed, placing his hand on the page Hanji was reading.

"Hey, I was reading that!"

"Was. Now you are paying attention to me."

Hanji sighed, shutting the book and setting it aside. "You're right. Now I am paying attention to you. Is something wrong?"

Levi opened his mouth to speak but closed it as soon as no words came out. Brain fog is what he was dealing with. When the weather was like this, his mood seemed to decline. He was grateful for Hanji having asked to come to his place. He wouldn't have said anything otherwise.

So he proceeded to lean against his best friend, staring down at the floor, examining the pattern of the area rug that Hanji insisted on Levi having when he first moved into his apartment. It was funny to him; a lot of things in his place had Hanji all over it. Some things didn't, of course, but the woman influenced a lot of the place, and even some of the things that they didn't even know he had were part of their influence. Such as the kind of shampoo he used or Hanji's favorite books that he kept hidden in his closet, embarrassed that Hanji might find them and say something. Almost 90% of his life revolved around Hanji's opinion of him. Of course, he was grateful to have been able to keep another 10% of himself as secret as possible from Hanji. Like the way he thought they were pretty with their hair in a bun, or how comfortable they were to use as a pillow, or how Hanji always smelled like shea butter because of how they thought it helped their skin stay smooth (and he wasn't going to lie, Hanji was right about that.) He was happy to keep those things separate from Hanji's opinion of him. At least, until a later time, when he might decide that it'd be important that Hanji knew how much they meant to him.

He wouldn't call it love, exactly. If he were to call it that, he'd make it very clear that it was platonic. Maybe, in terms of who was asking, he'd call it admiration. He was sure that Hanji at least had some of the same sentiments towards him, especially considering how Hanji automatically put their arm around Levi to comfort him, and how they began to talk about some weird thing involving chemical reactions. Hanji knew when it was okay to ramble because they'd notice how even if Levi wasn't listening to it or taking in any new information, he would relax his shoulders and stop fidgeting with the bracelet he wore all the time. 

Yes, he was sure that Hanji cared for him. Maybe not in the same manner as Levi cared for them, but pretty darn close. He thinks he could live with that, as long as he remained himself and Hanji remained themself. 

That's all that mattered, or at least, for now that was all that mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for over 100 hits! it means a lot to me aaaa. also, part of this chapter is a little messy but I was saving my energy for soft levihan towards the end :')


	6. One Sided Discussion

Hanji had paused in the middle of their rambling to look over at Levi, who had fallen asleep on their shoulder. Or, at least, they thought that Levi was asleep.

They smiled, leaning their head back against the back of the couch. They thought for a moment, taking in the scent of the living room, how it never ceased to smell of cinnamon and warm vanilla. They listened to the sound of the rain hitting the windows, how the rain sounded hitting Levi's balcony. 

Truthfully, Hanji was grateful for having Levi, and even more grateful that he didn't seem to mind that Hanji stuck around him at all times. The first time they met Levi, Levi had almost turned them down. It surprised Hanji that he just let them join him at lunch or become partners for group work in the one class they had together, which was some lame general ed class that was required of the both of them.

Hanji sighed, looking at Levi. Hanji had so many things to say to Levi; things that Hanji wasn't even sure they could bring themselves to say in the first place. They guessed that if they had to do it at any time, it'd be now when Levi was asleep and not paying attention to them.

_Ah, no, that's a ridiculous thing to do! Why don't you just wait until he's awake to say something?_

Hanji shook their head at the thought. They let out another sigh. He wasn't paying attention. He'd probably think they were talking about science again or something, which was something Levi never had a knack for.

"I wish I could tell you everything that's on my mind," Hanji muttered, messing with Levi's hair. It was something they did when they needed to occupy their hands, and usually also because Levi fell asleep very easily when they played with his hair. 

"And I mean everything, you know. Like, sometimes I think about how cool it would be if we moved in together or something. Honestly, I thought it was so cool when you asked me to help you with this whole business thing. I thought I would never get the chance to work on you with something like that, especially with the career I had in mind. But, that requires more school anyway. Maybe this will be like, I don't know, something that can occupy me in the meantime.

And I know you have copies of the books I like. I think it's kinda cute. Although, I don't understand why you would ever want to read the things I read. I thought horror kept you up at night? No matter, I'm glad you like those books, too. And I'm glad you kept some of the stuff I gave you. I'd have thought they'd all be gone by now.

I guess I'm trying to thank you? Thank you for being my best friend? But that doesn't even sound right. It doesn't sound like that's enough. Maybe one day I'll find some kind of words to figure out what I mean, but for now, I think it's safe to say that I'm happy that you don't hate me. I don't hate you, too. I actually like you, a lot. But don't tell anybody I said that.."

Hanji groaned, unhappy about the word vomit they just let out. They sighed, getting up slowly to make sure Levi didn't totally hit the couch as soon as they left. They sighed, covering Levi fully with the blanket, and turning away to go grab a glass of water.

Hanji felt a hand on their wrist.

"Do you mean it?"

Hanji looked back at Levi, who was staring up at them, a tight grasp on Hanji's wrist. Hanji laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of their head. "What do you mean?"

Levi sighed. "Do you mean it when you say those things?"

Hanji looked away. "In a wholly platonic way, Levi."

Levi let go of Hanji's wrist, unsure of how to take the answer. Perhaps it wasn't the one Levi wanted to hear but had the unfortunate privilege of hearing anyways.

"What did you think I meant?"

Levi shook his head and turned onto his right side, staring at the back of the couch. Hanji frowned but nodded anyway, taking Levi's silent answer.

_Maybe I should've kept silent._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> womp womp womp woooooomp. hanji you awkward fool.

**Author's Note:**

> lol uhhh this is my first time truly using ao3 so I really hope this doesn't turn out badly lmao. if you have any questions or suggestions, you can hmu on twitter @nkharagf


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